Once considered primarily a tool for the wealthy, Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) are gaining mainstream adoption. DAFs are currently the fastest-growing vehicle in all of philanthropy, with more than $52 billion in donations through DAFs in 2023. Read more: What is a Donor Advised Fund? →
Never again do you have to worry about missing out on a DAF donation. Givebutter's DAF donation method, DAFpay powered by Chariot, instantly initiates DAF donations, and the funds are on their way!
DAFpay is only available to verified nonprofit accounts on Givebutter at this time and must be manually enabled in your settings.
Top benefits ⭐
Allow donors to easily donate with any Donor-Advised Fund directly through any Givebutter campaign, whether it's a Form, Page, or Event.
Receive larger donations – The average DAF donation is around $5K, and the median is more than $500. Plus, donors see their DAF account balance in the donation flow and are invited to "boost" their donation.
Collect DAF donor information, which is often omitted using other methods.
Send targeted emails and texts to your DAF donors using Engage.
How DAF donations work 📝
After entering a one-time donation amount, DAFpay is selected from the list of available checkout options. The donor will be prompted to enter their contact information, and the DAFpay process will launch in a popup window. The donor chooses their DAF provider, enters their login information, and submits their donation.
Donors cannot cover processing fees and will not be prompted to leave a tip.
DAF will not appear as an option for monthly, quarterly, or yearly donations. Ensure you've selected a one-time donation.
Once submitted, a success screen will appear on Givebutter, confirming submission of the DAF donation, and a receipt is sent to the donor via email. In the notification email sent to the organization, Donor Advised Fund will be indicated, with additional information about the payment.
Pricing 💰
There are no set-up fees from Givebutter or Chariot to use this feature. Chariot charges a 2.9% processing fee for facilitating DAF donations. The way these fees are paid depends on whether or not you have claimed an account with Chariot.
Example: A $500 DAF donation will become $514.80 with the 2.9% fee, rounded up to $515. The organization will receive $500, and the additional $15 will be paid to Chariot via invoice at the end of the month.
Receiving DAF payments 💸
If the nonprofit has claimed an account with Chariot:
For organizations that have registered and claimed their account with Chariot, a grant initiated via DAFpay will be sent (gross amount) directly from the specific DAF provider to the nonprofit via check, unless ACH is set up directly with specific DAF providers. Read more: How gifts are received by nonprofits with a claimed Chariot account →
Funds will come with a Tracking ID that the nonprofit can use to reconcile the payment. At the end of the month, Chariot will charge a 2.9% processing fee to the payment method on file for the registered account. Read more: Registering your nonprofit account with Chariot →
If the nonprofit has not claimed an account with Chariot:
If the nonprofit has not completed registration with Chariot, grants initiated via DAFpay will be via the DAFpay Network. DAFpay Network will issue a check for the grant amount (minus processing fees), sent to the address on file with the IRS for the nonprofit. Read more: What is the DAFpay Network's check issuance policy? →
Viewing your DAF donations 👀
You can view all your DAF donations, including donor information, in your Givebutter Dashboard on the Transactions page.
Filter by Payment Method and select Donor-Advised Fund to only see DAF donations.
Supported DAFs 🏦
DAFpay supports enhanced Donor Advised Fund giving from all 1,151 DAFs and is fully compatible with over 70% of the DAF market by volume, including Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, National Philanthropic Trust and many others.
FAQ 🤔
How do I add DAFpay to my account or campaign?
You'll need to enable DAFpay in your Settings. On the Settings page, click the Account tab, then scroll down to Payment methods. Click Enable next to the Donor Advised Fund option.
Why is a payment method required for registered Chariot accounts?
Chariot requires a payment method in order to charge processing fees at the end of the month. These processing fees are not deducted when the DAF gift is sent to a nonprofit.
What is the minimum DAF donation amount?
The minimum DAF donation varies by DAF provider – this can range from $20-$250+. If a donor enters an amount less than the minimum and then selects DAFpay, their donation amount will be increased to the minimum and they will be notified of the required increase before they confirm their donation.
Is DAFpay free? Do I need to pay for this payment method?
DAFpay is free to use, and there aren't any associated fees for the payment method itself – fees are only charged when a DAF donation is made. DAFpay charges a 2.9% processing fee for facilitating a DAF donation. If your organization would like to remove the processing fee, you can optionally subscribe to a paid plan with Chariot.
The DAF option isn't appearing on my campaign!
Check that DAFpay has been enabled in your Account Settings.
A donation frequency other than "one-time" may been selected. DAF will only appear as an option on one-time donations in the checkout flow.
You may not be logged into a verified nonprofit account on Givebutter – only verified nonprofits have access to DAFpay.
What if the grant request gets denied by the DAF or I don’t receive my donation?
DAFpay will issue a full refund on the processing fee if the donation was not approved. If your donation does not arrive, you can send the Chariot team an email at [email protected].